Arsenal Innovation Lab Selects Eight Fan Experience Startups

Blind and low-vision fans can follow Australian Open matches through a new audio livestream called Action Audio. The broadcast converts data from Hawk-Eye’s ball-monitoring system into sounds to decipher on-court action, such as where a ball is being hit, ball speed and the type of swing—paired alongside play-by-play commentary and crowd sounds from the TV broadcast.   

A high-pitched beep will ring to indicate a forehand and low-pitched beep for a backhand. Another sound will ring when a ball strikes the sideline or baseline—three blips mean the ball is close to the line, two blips when the ball is farther away from the line and one blip when the ball hits the center of the court. A loud jingle rings when a player strikes the ball, which gradually fades away as the ball travels.  

Sounds come through the left speaker when the ball hits the left side of the court and the right speaker for right-side hits, so it is imperative for a user to have headphones or speakers that separate sounds from the left and right ear. Action Audio was initially trialed during the 2021 Australian Open finals; this is the first year all matches will be livestreamed throughout the tournament.  

“Everything is like, oh, yes, this is the final piece that I’m missing,” Michael Marshall, a vision-impaired tennis fan from Melbourne, told The New York Times. “It gives you those cues that you never really had before.”

Tennis Australia partnered with digital design agency AKQA and Monash University to develop the 3D sound system. The Australian Open’s Action Audio has drawn listeners from about 70 countries, according to the NYT.

Machar Reid, head of innovation at Tennis Australia, told the Times that he’d like to see Action Audio integrated into broadcasts for other sports that use optical tracking systems. MLB uses Hawk-Eye cameras to power its Statcast system, as well as its automated ball-strike system being tested in the minor leagues. The NBA, WNBA, and NFL are among other leagues using Hawk-Eye’s cameras.